Cashew Chicken
765kcal52.5g protein50.6g fat26.1g carbs~$3.00/ serving*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
Contains egg, peanut, tree nut, sesame, soy, shellfish · usually contains gluten
Restrictions
Containsegg · peanut · tree nut · sesame · soy · shellfishIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.
Usually containsgluten (soy sauce → Tamari)The usual version has it. One without it exists — it is the one named here.
Diets
No pork
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| 12 oz |  chicken thigh (boneless, diced into 2 cm cubes) |
| 1 unit |  egg white (from 1 egg) |
| 1 tbsp |  cornstarch (for the marinade) |
| 1 tbsp |  shaoxing wine |
| ¼ tsp |  baking soda |
| ½ tsp | salt |
| 1 tbsp |  soy sauce |
| 1 tbsp |  oyster sauce |
| 1 tsp |  sugar |
| 1 tsp |  rice vinegar |
| ¼ cup |  chicken stock |
| 1 tsp | cornstarch (for the slurry) |
| ½ cup |  cashews (raw, whole) |
| 2 tbsp | peanut oil |
| 2 clove |  garlic (minced) |
| 1 tbsp |  ginger (minced) |
| 1 unit |  bell pepper (diced to match the chicken) |
| 3 unit |  scallion (cut into 2 cm lengths, white and green kept apart) |
| 1 tsp |  sesame oil |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 4 unit |  dried red chilies (whole) |
| ¼ tsp |  black pepper (ground) |
| 1 cup |  long-grain rice (steamed, to serve) |
| 1 tsp |  chili oil |
Steps
- Dice8 minchicken thigh into 2 cm cubes, bell pepper to the same size, scallion into lengths — uniform dice is not neatness, it is timing: mismatched pieces cannot all finish in the ninety seconds the wok gives you
- Marinate30 minrefrigeratedchicken + egg white + 1 tbsp cornstarch + shaoxing wine + baking soda + salt, worked until the meat feels slippery rather than wet. The cornstarch and egg white gel on contact with heat into a shell that traps juices; the pinch of baking soda raises surface pH so the proteins hold water instead of squeezing it out. More than a quarter teaspoon and the chicken turns soapy and rubbery
- Toast5 mindry pan, medium-lowcashews, shaken constantly until straw-gold, then tip out onto a cold plate — they carry enough residual heat to scorch in the pan, and burnt cashew is bitter through the whole dish. Adding them raw at the end instead leaves them limp once the sauce hits
- Whisk2 mincoldsoy sauce + oyster sauce + sugar + rice vinegar + chicken stock + 1 tsp cornstarch = sauce, mixed until no white streaks remain. Build it now: once the wok is hot there is no time, and cornstarch stirred into hot liquid lumps instead of dissolving
- Sear4 minvery high, wok smokingpeanut oil + marinated chicken spread in a single layer, left undisturbed 90 seconds before the first turn. Crowd it and the pan temperature crashes below the setting point of the starch coat — the chicken weeps, boils in its own liquid, and comes out grey. Cook to just-opaque and pull it; it finishes in the sauce
- Saute3 minhighsame wok + garlic + ginger + scallion whites + bell pepper, tossed hard for 30 seconds of aromatics then 2 minutes of pepper — the pepper should still snap. Garlic goes in after the oil has cooled a beat off smoking or it turns acrid in seconds
- Mix2 minhigh, then off heat+ chicken + sauce (re-stirred, since the cornstarch settles) + scallion greens, tossing until the sauce turns glossy and clings — that gloss is the starch gelatinising, and it happens all at once. Off the heat, then + toasted cashews + sesame oil, so both stay aromatic rather than cooked flat